LifeLine - LinkUp

Discount Local Telephone Service:
If you receive SSI, Food Stamps, Medicaid, Sec. 8 Housing Assistance, Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) or Work First Family Assistance benefits, and the telephone service is in your name, you are eligible for local telephone service discounts through two programs called Link-Up and Lifeline. Link-Up provides a 50 percent discount, up to $30, off the price of connecting local telephone service. Lifeline provides a discount of up to $13.50 per month on the cost of local telephone service. Enrolling is easy. Here is how qualified persons can apply to receive these discounts:

If you do NOT have telephone service now:

• Contact your local telephone company to order service and ask them to mail you a Link-Up/Lifeline application form.
• Depending on the type of benefits you receive, take the form to your case worker at the Department of Social Services, your local SSA representative at Social Security or your Housing Authority or Section 8 official for approval.
• The agency will mail the completed form to the telephone company.
• The Link-Up discount appears on the first bill. If you request service to be installed before the approved form is received by the telephone company, you will not receive the Link-Up discount.

If you already HAVE telephone service:

• Depending on the type of benefits you receive, contact your case worker, local SSA representative, or housing official and have them complete the Link-Up/Lifeline form and mail it to your telephone company.
• The Lifeline discount will begin after the telephone company receives the approved form.
  NOTE: If your telephone service has been disconnected for unpaid bills, you may still be able to get local service and use these discounts. Ask your telephone company for details. In addition, Lifeline and Link-Up benefits may be available from a wireless telephone provider. However, these benefits are only available to one telephone service per household.

Native American Benefits:
Native Americans who reside on federally recognized tribal lands may qualify for a Link-Up discount of up to $100.00; and a Lifeline credit of up to $25.00 per month, subject to a minimum telephone payment of $1.00 per month. In addition to the qualifying programs identified above, Native Americans are also eligible for Link-Up and Lifeline if they receive Bureau of Indian Affairs Assistance, Tribally Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Head Start (based on the income standard), or free meals under the National School Lunch Program. Link-Up and Lifeline programs are funded through state and federal contributions and are regulated in North Carolina by the North Carolina Utilities Commission. This information was produced and distributed through a task force, with broad consumer and industry representation, led by North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Page Modified 07/10/2009